Gordon to approach north-central Gulf late Tuesday

It's expected to make landfall along the Alabama or MS coast late Tuesday night or early Wednesday perhaps as a category one hurricane.

Tropical Storm Gordon is centered 50 miles (80 kilometres) off the coast of Fort Myers, Florida on Monday evening, dumping rain on the peninsula and whipping its shores with maximum winds up to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).

The warning covers the MS and Alabama coast, from the mouth of the Pearl River to the Florida-Alabama border, the National Hurricane Center said.

National Hurricane Center forecasters peg Gordon as a 65-mph storm moving west-northwest at 65 miles per hour, according to the 5 a.m. Tuesday update.

Until then, the tropical storm could cause unsafe storm surge, strong winds, and flash flooding along the Gulf Coast from the tip of Florida to eastern Texas. The forecast calls for Gordon to remain a tropical storm and likely not become a hurricane.

A number of schools across Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and MS will not open Tuesday and others announced they would close early ahead of the storm's arrival.

"The biggest impact to our state will be heavy rain, but in Florida, we know how quickly weather can change", Gov. Scott said. A storm surge watch spread west to the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana, and east to Navarre, Florida.

A hurricane watch - meaning that hurricane conditions are possible - was put into effect for the area stretching from the mouth of the Pearl River in MS to the Alabama-Florida border. Hurricane Warnings and Storm Surge Warnings continue for the coastal counties.

The National Hurricane Center warns up to 8 inches of rain will be possible in southern Mississippi.

There is a Storm Surge Watch in effect for the Mississippi-Alabama border westward to the Mouth of the Mississippi River. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 60 miles per hour.

The hurricane center's latest "cone of uncertainty" for Tropical Storm Gordon is a good representation of numerous weather computer models: Most are in good agreement the storm will move off to the northwest.